The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1887-12-30
The Heavy Stockholders Let
Their Stock Go
AT The ASSESSMENT FIGURE
a Terrific Tumble from Six Dollars
to Twenty-five Oents-Causes
of the Fall

blue looking group a one often
sees asaembled-came together in the
Office of me company, in the Groesbeck
Binding, yesterday morning, at IL
O'Clock. The occasion was the sale of
the delinquent stock so long advertised,
and concerning which there had been
80 much speculation. Up to he open
ing Of the SAFE, probably no one but
themselves knew whether the Groes-
becks, David JAMES, J. T. Clasbey and
others O. the heavy stockholders would
still continue to carry their stock, or let
it go by the board but it soon became
evident that things were looking dark
indeed with the mine, when huge
blocks of stock were offered without
bidders, and were taken in by the
company, and the certificates purchased
by other parties went for the cost of
the assessment-25 cents per share.
This frightiul tumble from short ii ne
ago, when the stock was stiff at SIS and
Sc, and everyone looked for it to go to
$40, was enough to cause the stock
holders to wear gloomy faces. TIE
small stockholders, Of whom there
were & number present-and, oddly
enough, Of whom the great bul are
school teachers and uperinteDdents -
seemed 10 be following in the wake Of
the bigger fish, and when they saw that
the heavy blocks we're allowed to GO,
they either followed suit, and saw tn ir
earnings vanish into air, or retained
very small portions of their original
holdings. Most of this class originally
paid from S. to 1913 for their stock,
and they can i'll afford the loss they
sustained. The % 600 shares held by
the G Oesbecks was put up by Mr..
Kimbail, the acting s. or 'tary, anu
there being no o ner bids, Mr.. John A.
GroeSbeck, president of the company,
himself bid it in for the company. He,
lis brothers, Messrs. William and
Hiram Groesbeck. simply bought 100
Ashares each ct % cents per share
enough to enable them to hold Office,
and allowed all the rest OF their shares
to go. David James simply bought 500
shares, and allowed $500 to be sold. ].
T. Clastey and NJ. G. rhum, two of the
board were not present, and their
stock was sold out entirely for the as
sessment. Of the y 900 shares ad-
vertised, only 2,l40 were sold to indi-
Yiduals all the remainder went intonthe
treasury, which, with the amount bid
in at the time of the so cents assess
ment sale, puts the company in posses
sion OF Sc COO out of the original 100 QUO
shares. The IA 900 shares on which the
assessment has been paid, of course, only
brings $500 in, to meet the debts for
which the assessment was levied, and
the total of which reaches close upon
$35 coo. The problem confronting the
company now is, what steps shall be
taken to liquidate the remainder of the
debt, as the creditors are not at all dis
posed to grant further delay.
What steps are likely to DE taken,
can not be known until the general
meeting of the remaining stockholders.
once q small minority, but now raised
10 the important majority of Jmpauy
with $4,000 shares of its own stock in its
treasury; and with debt Of over $50 900
to hQuidate. This meeting will be
called immediately. Among those
now most interested are said to be
Messrs. George Romney, David
James, George II. Taylor, Henry
Dinwoodey, frank w. Jennings,
Thomas W. Jennings aud several
others who are not likely to allow the
company TO go to pisces as long as there
is any hope of any hing material being
affected by keeping the organization
will be declared, and the shases in the
treasury distributed among the now
depleted number of the stockholders
(which would give to each share six ad-
ditional shares), and a urther ASSESS
Ehent then levied; whether the company
Vsill give up all hopes of any future for
their property. and allow the mill,
mine and supplies to be sold out by the
creditors; or whether an attempt at a
reorganization with new capital will be |
determined on will not be known until |
the general meeting comes off. There was |
q good deal or informal talk yesterday |
of either the FIRST or the last of these |
three alternatives being adopted. |
The cause OF the terrible-and to
those who have not watched the affairs |
of this company closely-sudden COL |
Iapse of Bannock stock is due to the |
fact that both the amount and the rich
ness of the ore On the surface were |
very much overestimated, and |
that the vein of orr in the mi g |
did rot last as had b5en hoped. |
For the last few months tie
mill was running, it was on ore from |
the Last Chance, a property recently |
acquired by the company, and where |
the indications still remain good. Suf- |
Aoient ore could not be supplied, how
mill running, and it was thought best |
to close it down.
NR, JAMES
said to a HERALD reporter, after the
sale. that he would have still carried lis
10000 shares and paid the assessment
on it, if the Groesbeck Bros. had de-
cided TO carry their 43 600. When they
determined to let it go, however, b
had thought best to DO likewise, as; if
distribution of stock he wou d
receive between $1,000 and 60,OOU |
shares; and WI en-. it came to
assessing that again he could not carry
If. he might as well let it go now as
then. Mr.. James own view is, that |
Asme arrangement should be made to |
Keep three or four men at work on the
Last Chance this winter, driving a !